Mod Squad

Tige Andrews, a character actor who earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Capt. Adam Greer, the officer who recruited the undercover cops of television's "The Mod Squad," has died. He was 86. Mr. Andrews, who often played detectives during a TV career that spanned five decades, died of cardiac arrest Jan. 27 at his longtime San Fernando Valley home in Southern California, his family said. "Dad was really proud of `The Mod Squad,'" said Barbara Andrews, one of his six children.

Earle Hagen, the Emmy Award-winning television composer who wrote the theme music for "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "I Spy" and other classic TV programs, has died. He was 88. Mr. Hagen, who composed the jazz standard "Harlem Nocturne" and was a former big-band trombonist for Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Ray Noble, died Monday at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., said his wife, Laura. He had been ill for several months. Born in Chicago, Mr. Hagen was playing trombone and...

Are you getting enough of Clarence Williams III? The veteran actor, best known for his five years as Linc Hayes on ABC's "The Mod Squad" from 1968 to 1973, has been in several high-profile roles recently. He's appears in the new movie "Hoodlum," the gangster drama set in 1930s Harlem starring Laurence Fishburne, Andy Garcia and Tim Roth that was shot in Chicago last summer. He plays Bub Hewlett, an enforcer who worked for blood-thirsty mobster Dutch Schultz (Roth). Williams is in "George...

Claire Danes has been called the Meryl Streep of her generation. And that's no small compliment (Streep has 14 Oscar nominations). Like Streep, Danes has managed to accumulate accolades for almost all of her carefully selected roles. (She also serves as a beacon of hope that not all young stars are destined for rehab or mediocre romantic comedies.) Her latest movie, "Evening," opening this weekend, is being billed as a film "starring the greatest actresses of our time." (Streep's in this one too)

With large numbers of homeowners falling behind on mortgage payments, lenders across the country are seeking creative ways to keep delinquent customers out of foreclosure. One of the newest approaches: the "Mod Squad," a roving 50-member team of problem-solvers who work for Texas-based EMC Mortgage, a subsidiary of Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns. EMC services approximately 500,000 loans nationwide, with $78 billion in outstanding balances. Named for a hit TV series...

With large numbers of homeowners falling behind on mortgage payments, lenders across the country are seeking creative ways to keep delinquent customers out of foreclosure. One of the newest approaches: the "Mod Squad," a roving 50-member team of problem-solvers who work for Texas-based EMC Mortgage, a subsidiary of Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns. EMC services approximately 500,000 loans nationwide, with $78 billion in outstanding balances. Named for a hit TV series...

By Oliver Pangborn. Oliver Pangborn is a metromix special and contributor | July 28, 2004

Labels like "hip" and "edgy" rarely apply to the joints around Rush and Division Streets. But seeking to buck that trend, Elm Street Liquors--in the former Spike's Rat Bar space--has arrived on the scene to mix high-end lounging with a dive-bar attitude. Inside: The opaque windows and lack of a sign is a clear nod to the in-the-know lounges of New York and L.A. Inside, you'll find a minimalist metropolitan look that mixes stark blue walls and lighting with exposed concrete and tiles.

Tige Andrews, a character actor who earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Capt. Adam Greer, the officer who recruited the undercover cops of television's "The Mod Squad," has died. He was 86. Mr. Andrews, who often played detectives during a TV career that spanned five decades, died of cardiac arrest Jan. 27 at his longtime San Fernando Valley home in Southern California, his family said. "Dad was really proud of `The Mod Squad,'" said Barbara Andrews, one of his six children.

Denzel Washington and Will Smith, look out -- Omar Epps is breathing down your necks. "I look at Denzel and Wesley (Snipes), Cuba (Gooding) and Will, and figure it must be lonely at the top for those guys right now," the rising star tells Time magazine in its April 24 issue. Epps, 26, has starred in hits like "The Wood" and last year's bomb "The Mod Squad. "I'm looking for opportunities across the board, not just as a young black actor but as an actor," says Epps. "Sure, I want to...

You don't want Fido whimpering in the corner while you tear open gifts. Pets deserve presents, too--and not just raggedy old bones. Make the dog or cat in your life yip or meow with glee with one of these items that animals love. Say it's so There's nothing sweeter than the sound of your own voice. At least your dog thinks so. Now the pet can hear you talk even when you're not home, thanks to the Talk to Me Laser Treatball. The plastic toy has a battery-operated system that allows you to record a...

First, the new "Love Boat" series came along to make the original look like a classic. Now we have the "Mod Squad" movie, which manages to degrade an old Aaron Spelling TV series even further. The movie doesn't take the late '60s/early '70s hip cop trio and update them for the '90s. It just sticks them into some weird timeless zone and lets them flop around like fish plopped onto a Los Angeles pavement. This "mod squad" isn't remotely mod. There's nothing groovy about their threads, and each "dig" or...

When Rashida Jones was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" at the Buckley School in Los Angeles, the child of music producer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton was thinking of a career in politics or law. Then a bout of depression caused her to seek an outlet in theatrical productions at Harvard University, where she was studying religion and philosophy. Jones built a career as an actress known for her beauty and quiet confidence. Single and living in Los Angeles, Jones, 29, recently landed...

When Rashida Jones was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" at the Buckley School in Los Angeles, the child of music producer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton was thinking of a career in politics or law. Then a bout of depression caused her to seek an outlet in theatrical productions at Harvard University, where she was studying religion and philosophy. Jones built a career as an actress known for her beauty and quiet confidence. Single and living in Los Angeles, Jones, 29, recently landed...

Donald Edge, a South Florida architect, had come here to say goodbye. "I still think it's a beautiful piece of sculpture," Edge said of this city's courthouse, a bunkerlike concrete building that his firm designed in 1969. Soon after Edge's visit, crews began demolishing the building. Within months, a 1916 courthouse -- yellow brick with Greek Revival details, wrapped inside Edge's building for 30 years but still largely intact -- will again command the site. ...

By Oliver Pangborn. Oliver Pangborn is a metromix special and contributor | July 28, 2004

Labels like "hip" and "edgy" rarely apply to the joints around Rush and Division Streets. But seeking to buck that trend, Elm Street Liquors--in the former Spike's Rat Bar space--has arrived on the scene to mix high-end lounging with a dive-bar attitude. Inside: The opaque windows and lack of a sign is a clear nod to the in-the-know lounges of New York and L.A. Inside, you'll find a minimalist metropolitan look that mixes stark blue walls and lighting with exposed concrete and tiles.

Tastes like chicken: Does the thought of munching down on bugs, uh, bug you? The December issue of National Geographic World features bugs people eat around the world. (The picture at right shows an Indonesian boy chewing roasted bugs like they're popcorn.) Find out where people eat worms, water bugs, termites and other yummer creatures. And find out why it's not such a bad thing (like, bugs are nutritious... if you can keep 'em down). And before you sniff and say...

By Jason Katzman for RedEye. JASON KATZMAN IS A REDEYE SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR | February 20, 2004

Omar Epps made his cinematic acting debut in 1992 with "Juice." Since then, he's had starring roles in many films, including "The Program," "Scream 2" and "The Mod Squad." In "Against the Ropes," he plays boxer Luther Shaw, a boxer--a composite of many people--who is managed by Jackie Kallen (Meg Ryan), a woman who broke new ground in boxing. How did the movie change your perspective on the sport of boxing? It definitely gave me a greater appreciation of the art, going through all the steps and...

ABC will mark 50 years as a full-fledged TV network with a three-hour special in May. The special, scheduled for May 19, will reunite stars of ABC shows from years past, offer highlights from news and sports programming and the slew of clips you'd expect from a retrospective. Among those expected at the celebration are Roseanne, Tim Allen, Henry Winkler, Peter Falk ("Columbo") and John Travolta, who first became famous on "Welcome Back, Kotter" in the mid-1970s. Current ABC stars such...

While some may associate saxophonist Joe McPhee with the fiery musical insurgency that exploded in the 1960s, he appreciates the power of silence. McPhee's use of space and nuance make his performances so remarkable. "Listening is a very active experience, it's not passive," McPhee says from his home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. "It's as important for the listener to participate in what's going on as it is for the performer to put stuff out there. And when you play quieter, it makes people listen...